Louise Bennett, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “The businesses of Coventry and, indeed, Warwickshire don’t look at city, county, regional or even national borders as a barrier to do business.
“They simply want the city and the region to have the best possible conditions from which to do business and if a regional combined authority can help to do that by drawing down further investment then business will welcome the move.
“Coventry has made the bold step of going into the combined authority and they will have this Chamber’s support in any bid to attract investment to the city that can have a positive knock-on effect for the entire region.
“Equally, the majority of companies across Coventry and Warwickshire still see a natural alliance between the two so it’s important that Warwickshire and its businesses see the benefits of devolution.
“This is still early days and it’s absolutely crucial that Chambers help provide a business voice in this process – especially around the subject of business rates – either with a vote or as a statutory consultee.”